TSA Will Continue to Confiscate Small Knives

John Pistole, head of the Transportation Security Administration, has decided not to change the agency’s policy and continue to remove small knives from passenger’s carry-ons.

In March he announced that the TSA would change its policy and allow knives of three inches or less in length inside the passenger compartment.

Pilots and flight attendants immediately protested. They reminded Pistole that the 911 hijackers had used box cutters. He would have also allowed souvenier baseball bats, golf clubs, and other sports equipment, all of which flight personnel suggested could be used as weapons.

After multiple protests from airline personnel, and the general public, he decided to discontinue the plan. Pistole told the Associated Press that “dropping the proposal allows his agency to focus on other programs.”

Pistole also received a letter signed by 145 House members requesting that the policy not be changed.

According to the AP, TSA screeners confiscate over 2,000 of the small folding knives a day from passengers. Cabin personnel are pleased that these items, which could become weapons used against them, will continue to be removed from passenger’s personal effects and carry-ons.